Sauces

Do you know who deserves the big bucks at that fancy French restaurant you love so much? It’s the saucier (the sauce maker)! These alchemists are the most talented at balancing flavors to create the personality of the dish it accompanies.

Learning how to make sauces is definitely one of the most important ways of enhancing the flavor of your food.

Before we dive in to how, here are key terms to become familiar with:

SAUCE – Flavorful liquid, usually thickened, used to flavor and enhance other foods

PAN GRAVY – Sauce made with the juices or drippings of the meat or poultry with which it is served

JUS – Unthickened juices from a roast

As I shared in the Stocks section, fundamental to good sauces is a good stock. In fact, in order to achieve the depth of flavor and complexity you experience when you eat a restaurant-prepared sauce, you must use good stock.

Additionally, utilizing thickening agents to create the desired consistency is a critical element in sauce-making. The options for thickening agents available are quite numerous. Each of the following works in a particular way:

ROUX – Cooked mixture of equal parts flour and fat used for medium and long cooking; can be cooked to white, blond or brown by cooking longer; thickening power lessens the longer it cooks

BEURRE MANIE – A mixture of equal parts raw butter and flour

WHITEWASH – Mixture of flour and water

CORNSTARCH – Twice the thickening power of flour; produces a glossy sauce that is almost clear; however, prolonged boiling breaks it down

ARROWROOT – Produces a clearer sauce than cornstarch and lasts longer on the heat; used for jus lie; however, more expensive

WAXY MAIZE –Only thickener that can withstand freezing

PREGELATINIZED/INSTANT STARCHES – Thicken without heating; used for baking

BREAD CRUMBS – Used to add texture

PUREES, NUTS –Sauce gets thickened texture from ingredients

LIAISON –Mixture of egg yolks and cream, used to enrich and lightly thicken a sauce (proteins coagulate when heated)

CREAM – Added for extra richness and color (opaque appearance)

BLOOD – Used in many traditional recipes; to prevent coagulating, it is mixed with vinegar, lemon juice or alcohol and tempered before adding

REDUCTION – Thickening occurs through the process of boiling/simmering a liquid to evaporate part of the water

MOTHER SAUCES

Foundational to all sauces are the five sauces that are referred to as “Mother Sauces”.

Each uses a different technique and serves as the basis from which all other sauces are derived. Therefore, if you can master these five sauces, you then have the ability to make a myriad of delicious sauces.

Below is a detailed explanation of how to make each of the Mother Sauces. And following this chart, are a set of diagrams detailing which sauces are derived from each of the Mother Sauces. If you’ve ever wondered what’s in all of those fancy-sounding French sauces, this is your guide!

BECHAMEL

PROCEDURE

In a pot, combine cold milk with ½ onion (spiked with bay leaf and clove) and bouquet garni (French term for a bundle of herbs which traditionally includes leeks, parsley stems, thyme, celery greens and bay leaf) with a pinch of salt and pepper

Remove pot from oven to add chicken stock and then place the pot back in the oven to cook for an additional 1 ½ – 2 hours

Remove bouquet garni, puree sauce with a stick blender (or by placing the sauce in a stand blender), strain through a chinois, monter au beurre and adjust seasonings

HOLLANDAISE

PROCEDURE

Whisk egg yolks in a bowl placed over a pot with simmering water

Once their color begins to lighten, slowly add clarified butter (milk fat rendered from butter by separating out the milk solids and water from the butterfat – to make, simply 1) heat unsalted butter over low heat until it melts and its foam rises to the top 2) skim off the foam with a spoon and 3) strain and the remaining liquid is clarified butter)

When combined with an equal part of veal stock and reduced by half, it is referred to as demi-glace and serves as the base for many more elaborate sauces summarized below

MODERN SAUCES

Beyond the Mother Sauces and their derivatives, many of today’s Chefs are enhancing the flavor of their foods by using the following options:

Broths and Jus

Purees

Cream reductions – heavy cream reduced and blended with stock

Salsas – mixture of raw or cooked veg, herbs and occasionally fruit

Relish – raw or pickled vegetables

Chutney – cooked fruit or vegetable condiment that is sweet, spicy and tangy

Asian sauces

Flavored oils

As promised above, the following diagrams demonstrate the derivative sauces of each of the Mother Sauces. Each requires that you first prepare the specific Mother Sauce and then continue with the added ingredients detailed in each box.

As I abbreviated below, here are a few notes:

“suer” refers to the process of sweating aromatics such as onion

“glace de viande” is a glaze created by concentrated reduction of brown stock

“gastrique” consists of a reduction of vinegar, wine and sugar

“brunoise” is a knife cut which refers to tiny cubes measuring 1/8 in x 1/8 in x 1/8 in